Fremantle coach Mark Harvey says his team's ability to remain calm after being on the receiving end of a first-quarter towelling from Melbourne was the key to the Dockers' 46-point victory at Subiaco Oval.
Fremantle were staring down the barrel of their 14th loss of the season when they trailed Melbourne by 34 points early in the second quarter.
But after failing to kick a goal in the first 40 minutes of the match, the Dockers launched a scoring spree that left Melbourne dead in their tracks.
Led by a best afield performance from captain Matthew Pavlich, Fremantle piled on 13 of the next 14 goals to seal the 16.18 (114) to 10.8 (68) win - a victory that lifts the Dockers a game and percentage clear of bottom spot.
"We were on the back foot from the start but it's good to see that we can show initiative and get ourselves out of that situation," Harvey said.
"To be five goals down and show some initiative and not panic - on the back of some recent history - was good.
"We just had to get a couple of things right from a structure point of view around stoppages."
Pavlich was the hero with five goals, 28 possessions, five clearances and five score assists, but he had plenty of help.
The likes of Byron Schammer, Brock O'Brien, Chris Mayne, Garrick Ibbotson, Josh Head, Shaun McManus, Antoni Grover and Michael Johnson were also crucial in the turnaround, while Aaron Sandilands' dominant tap work ensured Fremantle won the crucial clearance battle.